'It's not very easy to work with us' admits EU development chief
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Version 0 of 1. Speaking at EU Development Days, an event in Brussels, Klaus Rudischhauser has acknowledged that it is "not necessarily very easy" for companies to work with the European Commission. The deputy director-general for policy and thematic co-ordination at the commission's development cooperation – EuropeAid directorate recognised complaints that the EU was more bureaucratic to work with than some other donors but added that they were trying to make it easier – and that over time, organisations would find the Commission 'acceptable'. Mr Rudischhauser said: "We are very aware of these complaints and we spend a lot of effort to try to simplify our procedures and make them as manageable as possible. We also spend quite a big effort in explaining our procedures to those who are interested. But it is a fact that because our funds have to be spent through competitive tendering, [and] because our aid is untied, we have to create a level playing field for companies to compete. "We have to be very attentive to the evaluations process, we have to be very rigorous, systematic and we have to insist on the respect of rules because if we don't respect rules in the tendering process we [could] be taken to court. And then we have language requirements because people from countries whose language is not one of our working languages will find it more difficult to present bids. "[Working with us requires] an initial investment, which is sometimes very considerable, but I think over time people find it acceptable and since obviously we are a major player, it's clear we generate a lot of interest." Rudischhauser said that the EU enjoyed a number of comparative advantages as a donor, including being seen as objective and neutral, which he said one can assume contributed to its programmes having "higher impact". "Let's face it, historical links will always [mean] that a single member state can maybe do certain things in a country but not other things. Because all of our programmes are co-decided with member states, we are seen as a very objective, very neutral donor, because we do not have specific interests of one country [steering] our programming. "And finally, and I think this should also not be underestimated – because our partner countries know that our member states support our programmes, we are also seen as an authoritative, a recognised and very accountable donor, so countries know that our programmes are not just pulled out of a sleeve somehow, they are discussed and agreed, and member states, even if they don't co-finance them directly, they support them politically. So our programmes, through that, get higher credibility. Rudischhauser said that a new monitoring framework would help to demonstrate what the EU is achieving in development. "We are now in the process of developing a fully-fledged results monitoring framework, a little bit inspired by what DfID has done in the UK, what the World Bank, the European Investment Bank has done, so as to aid the reporting of results. "This is necessary because development is a [long-term] process and results are not always immediately visible because sometimes results are systemic change – that we want to bring about, or that a country wants to bring about with our assistance. "We needed the right kind of approach to measure these results over the short-term but also over the long-term, and such a results measurements framework is now under elaboration and will be available some time next year, so that for the upcoming financial period 2014-2020, we are well-equipped to be able to show to everybody, and in particular to European taxpayers, what we are achieving." <strong>This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To get more articles like this direct to your inbox, sign up free to become a member of the Global Development Professionals Network</strong> Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |